Wildlife rescue missions at sea will will be getting a boost as Nature Trust and the Jarhead Young Sailors Foundation (JYSF) have jointly announced that the JYSF will be assisting Nature Trust- FEE Malta in this cause.

They explained that this will cut the response times of the rescue of turtles and dolphins at sea by allowing Nature Trust First Responders the use of Jarhead Young Sailors support boat ‘Motorhead’ which is capable of 50knots plus while also providing an extended range beyond Maltese territorial waters.

The Jarhead Young Sailors Foundation will also be providing logistical support and skippers to assist the Nature Trust Wildlife rescue teams.

“This collaboration will make it possible for Nature Trust Wildlife Rescue to take in rescues that up till now were very difficult unless the assistance of the AFM was possible,” said Nature Trust – FEE Malta Executive President.

He went on to say that, “I thank the AFM who at times do their best to help us and I also understand that at times the AFM would be very busy with other maritime duties. Such a collaboration also comes at a time when we will soon be opening our Wildlife Rehab centre project funded by the ERDF and supported by the Ministry for the Environment.”

Mr Attard added, “this collaboration is great as now they are now in a position to be able to save more and take those calls from fishermen and other boats within the 24 Km area. It is also nice to be working with the Jarhead Young Sailors since they are a Foundation with a Nobel cause.”

Nature Trust said that it is at the moment receiving an average of 40 turtle rescue calls every year together with dolphin rescue calls. The NGO also carries out terrestrial calls for Hedgehogs, chameleons, bats, local snakes etc.

It stressed that all this is carried out under a permit from the Environment Resource Authority which also supports the rescue and rehab operations.

Jarhead Young Sailors Foundation was founded by Gregory Naismith and his wife, Samantha Rowe-Bedder, with the remit of providing sailing opportunities to Maltese kids where there were none, and through its Racing Academy, the next generation of offshore sailors, as evidenced by the successful finish of the eponymous ‘Jarhead’ in this year’s Middle Sea Race, when 7 Maltese teenagers battled through to win their class against an experienced international fleet.

More details can be found at https://www.facebook.com/jysmalta/ or Facebook Nature Trust.

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